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Members of PSM held under Emergency Ordinance

"Of course, it's politically motivated," she said. "It's all about Bersih. They want to stop people from going to Bersih... This is to create fear."

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia has detained six members of an opposition party, including a lawmaker, under a tough security law ahead of a rally for electoral reforms, an activist group and police said on Saturday.

The six members of the Socialist Party of Malaysia were arrested under the Emergency Ordinance, which allows indefinite detention without trial, said Nalini Elumalai, a representative of local rights group Suaram.

The six were arrested last weekend together with 25 others on the way to a party rally in northern Penang state and were being held on accusations of "inciting people to wage war against the king."

"The six were released... but they were still in the police compound, when they were re-arrested and told they were being held under the Emergency Ordinance," Nalini told AFP.

A federal police official confirmed the arrests but could not immediately give further details. National news agency Bernama quoted federal police deputy head Khalid Abu Bakar as saying more investigations needed to be done.

"Police re-arrested them to prevent any crimes of a violent nature from happening besides allowing us to do follow-up investigations," he said.

Nalini said the detentions and arrests were part of a government crackdown to prevent people from attending a July 9 rally by electoral reform group Bersih. Organisers have vowed that the rally will be peaceful.

"Of course, it's politically motivated," she said. "It's all about Bersih. They want to stop people from going to Bersih... This is to create fear."

Nalini said the six were expected to be taken to the federal police headquarters in the capital Kuala Lumpur, while 24 others were expected to remain in police custody in Penang. A South Korean woman has been deported.

Police have arrested about 150 opposition politicians and activists over the past week for trying to shore up support for the electoral reform rally. Most have been released after questioning.

Police have said the rally is against the law as it has not received special police permission and so promoting it is illegal too.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Saturday that the rally was a ploy by the opposition to cause disruption.

Security laws such as the Internal Security Act and Emergency Ordinance used to be used frequently to detain activists and opposition politicians, but in recent years fewer such arrests have been made.